§513. Lot of Seed (Formerly §135)

A. The applicant shall assign a specific, unique number or other mark when the seed is conditioned and bagged.

B. Each container in a given lot of seed shall be marked with the number or other mark assigned to that lot.

C. Seed lots may be blended if the variety and class are the same.

D. All seed must be bagged in new bags, unless other types of containers are approved by LDAF prior to bagging.

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 3:1431 and R.S. 3:1433.

HISTORICAL NOTE: Promulgated by the Department of Agriculture, Seed Commission, LR 8:565 (November 1982), amended LR 9:195 (April 1983), amended by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Seed Commission, LR 12:825 (December 1986), repromulgated by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Chemistry and Seed Commission, LR 39:2712 (October 2013), amended LR 40:749 (April 2014).

§515. Seed Sampling (Formerly §137)

A. Seed sampling will be performed at the request of the grower.

B. Except as provided by §515.D.2, official samples to determine eligibility for certification shall be drawn only after the seed is conditioned.

C. Sampling of Bagged Seed

1. Each lot of seed must be stacked so as to facilitate sampling.

2. A LDAF inspector will sample at random, by probing, a specific number of bags from each lot. The number of bags to be sampled from each lot is as follows: five bags, plus 10 percent of the total number, not to exceed 30 bags per lot. In lots containing six bags or less, every bag will be sampled.

D. Sampling of Bulk Seed

1. Cleaned Seed in Bulk

a. A LDAF inspector will collect a minimum of four samples, at intervals of 4 feet, by probing the entire depth of the bin or storage area.

b. All samples will be blended into one representative sample for each bin or storage area.

2. Uncleaned Seed in Bulk

a. A LDAF inspector will collect a minimum of four samples, at intervals of 4 feet, by probing the entire depth of the bin or storage area. All samples will be blended into one representative sample for each bin or storage area.

b. A second representative sample will be drawn within 60 days after the first sample, after conditioning, for determining purity.

E. Analysis of samples shall be performed according to the current rules of the Association of Official Seed Analysts.

F. Resampling Policy

1. Except in special instances, as described below, only one sample shall be obtained from each certified lot.

a. When a certified seed lot fails certification requirements due to physical or mechanical purity factors, such as excess inert matter or weed seed, the seed may be reconditioned if the contaminants are separable. A complete purity analysis and germination test will be required on the reconditioned lot of seed. Certified seed rice which fails certification due to the presence of red rice seed in the sample shall be subject to the terms of Subparagraph e below.

b. Should a seed lot fail certified seed germination standards on the first laboratory test, a re-sample for germination test only for that seed lot will be permitted. Only one re-sample per seed lot will be permitted.

c. Whenever a certified seed lot is divided into sub-lots, both a purity and a germination test will be required for all sub-lots.

d. The last and most recent laboratory test report for a seed lot shall be the final analysis used to establish the eligibility for certification and will determine the information to be placed on the tag.

e. When a certified seed rice lot fails certification requirements due to the presence of one red rice seed in the original four pound sample, then a second 8 pound sample may be drawn from the lot. If one or more red rice seeds are found in the second sample, the lot will be disqualified on the basis of red rice content. If no red rice seed is found in the second sample, the lot would meet certification requirements. Certified seed rice whose original sample contains the presence of more than one red rice seed may not be re-sampled.

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 3:1433 and R.S. 3:1434.

HISTORICAL NOTE: Promulgated by the Department of Agriculture, Seed Commission, LR 8:565 (November 1982), amended LR 9:195 (April 1983), amended by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Seed Commission, LR 12:825 (December 1986), LR 19:888 (July 1993), repromulgated by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Chemistry and Seed Commission, LR 39:2712 (October 2013), amended LR 40:750 (April 2014).

§517. Listing of Certified Seed Conditioning Plants (Formerly §139)

A. Seed conditioning plants desiring to be listed in LDAF roster of seed conditioning plants must make a written application for inclusion on the list.

B. LDAF will issue certificates to all seed conditioning plants making application for inclusion on the listing, on an annual basis, each such certificate to expire on June 30 following date of issue.

C. The following requirements must be met by processors of all classes of certified seed.

1. Facilities shall be available to perform processing without introducing admixtures.

2. Identity of the seed must be maintained at all times.

3. Records of all operations relating to certification shall be completed and adequate to account for all incoming seed and final disposition of seed.

4. Processors shall permit inspection by the certifying agency of all records, equipment, storage and processing facilities pertaining to all classes of certified seed.

5. Processors shall designate an individual who shall be responsible to the certifying agency for performing such duties as may be required by the certifying agency.

6. Seed lots of the same variety and class may be blended and the class retained. If lots of different classes are blended, the lowest class shall be applied to the resultant blend. Such blending can only be done when authorized by the certifying agency.

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 3:1433 and R.S. 3:1434.

HISTORICAL NOTE: Promulgated by the Department of Agriculture, Seed Commission, LR 8:566 (November 1982), amended LR 9:196 (April 1983), amended by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Seed Commission, LR 12:825 (December 1986), LR 20:642 (June 1994), LR 31:35 (January 2005), repromulgated by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Chemistry and Seed Commission, LR 39:2713 (October 2013), amended LR 40:750 (April 2014).

A. Bagging

1. All seed approved for certification must be packaged in new 100 pound containers or less, except as provided by this subsection.

2. Registered class of rice and small grains (wheat and oats):

a. new super-bags or Q-Bit bulk containers (or its equivalent as determined by LDAF;

b. each super-bag or Q-Bit container of registered seed must be sealed in an LDAF approved manner that prevents removal and re-attachment without tampering being obvious. Seals shall be attached after filling and/or sampling is completed.

3. Certified class of rice and small grains (wheat and oats):

a. new or reusable super-bags or Q-Bit bulk containers (or its equivalent as determined by LDAF). Reusable containers shall be cleaned in a manner approved by LDAF.

B. General Labeling Requirements

1. Each container, regardless of size, of all classes of certified seed offered for sale must bear an official certification label issued by the LDAF.

2. Labeling requirements may vary with the crop and methods of handling, but, in all instances, labels shall be attached to the containers in a secure manner.

3. The lot number of the label attached to each container must be the same as the lot number marked on the container.

4. The label shall contain the following information:

a. kind and variety;

b. where grown;

c. percentage of pure seed, crop seed, weed seed and inert matter;

d. name and number of noxious weed seeds per pound;

e. grower's name and address or code number;

f. germination percentage;

g. hard seed;

h. total germination and hard seed percentage;

i. net weight;

j. lot number; and

k. date of test.

5. Labels will be issued only for seed proven by laboratory analysis to meet required germination and purity standards.

6. The number of labels issued will be determined by the inspector's estimate of the quantity of seed at the time of sampling. All unused labels must be returned to LDAF.

7. Prelabeling

a. In order to permit owners or certifiers of seed to bag and label seed in advance of final laboratory reports, certification labels may be issued in advance. Such labels can be pre-issued upon receipt of completed field inspection reports showing that field production standards have been met. The state may grant a waiver on the movement of seed if an acceptable preliminary test is made on the seed lot. If prelabeled lots fail laboratory analysis standards, all labels shall be destroyed or returned to the LDAF. Failure to comply with this regulation will result in suspension of future prelabeling privileges.

8. The official certification label may be printed directly on the container with prior approval of LDAF.

9. When separate seed analysis labels containing warranties, treatment information, etc., are attached to containers they shall be positioned so as not to obscure certification labels.

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 3:1433 and R.S. 3:1434.

HISTORICAL NOTE: Promulgated by the Department of Agriculture, Seed Commission, LR 8:566 (November l982), amended LR 9:196 (April l983), amended by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Seed Commission, LR 12:825 (December l986), LR 20:643 (June 1994), LR 31:35 (January 2005), LR 31:1510 (July 2005), LR 39:1758 (July 2013), repromulgated by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Chemistry and Seed Commission, LR 39:2713 (October 2013), amended LR 40:750 (April 2014).

A. Bulk certification shall be limited to the certified class of the following commodities:

1. small grains (wheat and oats);

2. rice.

C. Seed certified in bulk shall not be eligible for recertification.

D. Seed certified in bulk shall only be sold by the applicant producer or by a retail facility approved by LDAF.

1. Each retail outlet shall have a procedure for handling bulk certified seed that is acceptable to LDAF for the purpose of assuring genetic purity and that the identity of the seed is maintained.

E. The seed owner is responsible for making application for bulk certification to LDAF and for securing LDAF’s approval to use the facility in which the seed will be stored prior to storage of the seed at the facility.

F. Storage Requirements

1. A separate storage bin shall be available for each variety that will be sold in bulk.

2. Storage bins shall be constructed so that all bin openings can be sealed to prevent contamination and maintain genetic purity.

3. All bins shall be clearly and prominently marked to show crop and variety, until disposal of the entire lot is completed and the bin is properly cleaned to remove all remaining seeds or seed residue.

G. Seed sampling shall be conducted as provided in §515.D.

H. Certification

1. No certified seed tags will be issued for seed certified in bulk, except as provided by subsection I of this Section.

2. For sales to an approved retail facility within the state, a bulk certified seed transfer form shall be issued to cover all bulk certified seed which meets the general requirements for seed certification and the specific requirements for the crop/variety being certified.

a. The seller shall provide a copy of the bulk certified seed transfer form to each purchaser at time of delivery.

b. The seller shall provide a copy of each issued Bulk Certified Seed Transfer Form to LDAF at the time the form is completed.

c. The seller shall maintain a copy of each issued bulk certified seed transfer form in his file, which shall be available for examination by LDAF upon reasonable request.

3. For sales to the end user, a bulk certified seed sales certificate shall be issued to cover all bulk certified seed which meets the general requirements for seed certification and the requirements for the crop/variety being certified.

a. The seller shall provide a copy of the bulk certified seed sales certificate to each purchaser at the time of delivery.

b. The seller shall provide a copy of each issued bulk certified seed sales certificate to LDAF at the time the form is completed.

c. The seller shall maintain a copy of each issued bulk certified seed sales certificate in his file, which shall be available for examination by LDAF upon reasonable request.

I. If the owner of seed certified in bulk elects to package any portion of the lot, the owner shall give prior notification of his intention to package the seed to LDAF.

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 3:1433 and R.S. 3:1434.

HISTORICAL NOTE: Promulgated by the Department of Agriculture, Seed Commission, LR 8:567 (November 1982), amended by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Seed Commission, LR 12:825 (December 1986), LR 23:1283 (October 1997), LR 26:235 (February 2000), repromulgated by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Chemistry and Seed Commission, LR 39:2714 (October 2013), amended LR 40:750 (April 2014).

§523. Interagency Certification (Out-of-State Seed)
(Formerly §149)

A. Seed to be certified by interagency action must meet the seed certification standards established by the Seed Law and this Part or comparable standards of a seed certifying agency recognized by the commissioner.

B. Seed to be certified by interagency action must contain, on the package, evidence from another recognized certifying agency that the seed is eligible for certification.

C. The following information must accompany each lot of seed:

1. kind and variety;

2. quantity (pounds);

3. class; and

4. lot number issued by previous certifying agency.

D. Seed to be certified by interagency action must be sequentially numbered.

E. A Louisiana tag for the appropriate class of seed must be attached to all seed to be certified by interagency action.

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 3:1433.

HISTORICAL NOTE: Promulgated by the Department of Agriculture, Seed Commission, LR 8:566 (November 1982), amended LR 9:196 (April 1983), amended by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Seed Commission, LR 12:825 (December 1986), LR 23:1283 (October 1997), repromulgated by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Chemistry and Seed Commission, LR 39:2714 (October 2013), amended LR 40:751 (April 2014).

A. Field Standards

B. Seed Standards

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 3:1433.

HISTORICAL NOTE: Promulgated by the Department of Agriculture, Seed Commission, LR 8:569 (November 1982), amended LR 9:198 (April 1983), LR 10:737 (October 1984), amended by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Seed Commission, LR 12:825 (December 1986), repromulgated by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Chemistry and Seed Commission, LR 39:2715 (October 2013).

§703. Louisiana White; Louisiana White S 1, Ladino and Other White Clover Seed Certification Standards (Formerly §161)

A. Field Standards

B. Seed Standards

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 3:1433.

HISTORICAL NOTE: Promulgated by the Department of Agriculture, Seed Commission, LR 8:569 (November 1982), amended LR 9:198 (April 1983), amended by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Seed Commission, LR 12:825 (December 1986), repromulgated by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Chemistry and Seed Commission, LR 39:2715 (October 2013).